Big East Players in Draft

UConn's Jeremy Lamb (right)/AP Images

The Big East has been in the spotlight for the mass exodus of teams and the influx of new teams, though not of the quality of those leaving. Now the Big East is experiencing a mass exodus of a different kind, with their players.


By Lauren Dellipoali
UConn has already lost four of their key players to either transfer or the NBA. Syracuse has lost four as well to the NBA (graduation and leaving early). Georgetown, Villanova and St. John’s have all also lost players who decided to leave early for the NBA. In total the league lost seven players early to the NBA.

The 2012 NBA Draft will be held on June 28 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, and after Kentucky, the Big East will probably have the most players taken. Historically UConn has produced better and more NBA players on average than the rest of the Big East, but this year Syracuse may steal the show with there four players, though Fab Melo may not rank that high on most teams boards. Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine and Dion Waiters all had phenomenal years, and Joseph and Jardine were solid their four years at Syracuse.

UConn’s Jeremy Lamb or Andre Drummond may be the highest Big East player drafted this year. Lamb’s play seemed to dip at times during games, and he did not seem like the same player who was dubbed Kemba Walker 2.0. Howevere, his clutch shooting at times did give flashes of Kemba during the Big East Tournament two years ago. Drummond has a lot of upside, but may not be ready to be thrown in a starting lineup. He will be drafted more on his future potential, which could be through the roof.

The rest of the Big East players will be dispersed throughout the draft, and it will be interesting to see which teams pull the trigger on some of the guys leaving their teams too early on not so good terms (see Melo’s two suspensions). Either way it will be fun to watch and wonder how this draft will impact the play of next season.